As she sips a cup of English Breakfast tea at a Starbucks on a drizzly day, it”s not obvious that the Dublin attorney and mother of 11-year-old twins is seen by the GOP as a giant-killer, having just beaten Democrat Tim Sbranti to become the first Republican to win a Bay Area legislative or congressional election in eight years.

And that means she already has a bulls-eye on her back as Democrats start mulling how to retake the East Bay”s 16th Assembly District — a swing district if there ever was one — in 2016.

“This seat and my service will be a target for those who put politics above everything else, and Sacramento is a political town,” acknowledged Baker, 43. “I will be doing everything I can to break that mold. … It”s going to be about learning and building relationships with my colleagues.”

She has a fighting chance, said Steve Boilard, who directs Sacramento State”s Center for California Studies. “She is a face of what the California Republican Party might be moving toward — she is more moderate, she is female … and I think she could remain in office for a long time.”

But Baker”s challenge is to “hold onto the independent voters that Sbranti couldn”t get after the divisive primary” in which Democrat Steve Glazer got the votes of many nonpartisan voters, said Stephen Wolpert, a political science professor at St. Mary”s College of California in Orinda. A former top political adviser to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, Glazer later backed Baker.

Baker beat Sbranti, Dublin”s mayor, by three percentage points in a district in which Democrats hold a 7.4-point registration edge. The fall campaign grew intense and ugly as Democrats and labor unions spent big for Sbranti while Republican benefactor Charles Munger Jr., of Palo Alto, spent big for Baker.

“She”s still in a blue-leaning district,” Woolpert said, “so all the Democrats basically have to do is split the independents with her next time and they”ll recapture the seat.”

That will be easier with bigger turnout for 2016”s presidential election, he added. “She”s going to be facing a larger electorate with more Democrats, and if the Democrats can avoid another bitter primary and come out with unified support for a candidate, they have a much better chance of getting enough independents to reach a majority.”

Sbranti, 40, might try again in two years in hopes that higher turnout will make the difference. Or perhaps it could be Walnut Creek Mayor Kristina Lawson, 37, a Democrat who didn”t seek re-election this year but still envisions a future in politics or policy work. Or possibly some other Democrat.

For now, however, the Assembly”s Democratic leadership says it”s willing to give Baker a chance.

“Policy and politics are two different things,” said John Casey, chief of staff to Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. “And she won the election.”

Recent bipartisan deals on the water bond and state budget rainy-day fund show “there”s been a pretty good working relationship with the Republican caucus on a lot of stuff, and I think that will continue with her,” he said. “If her policies are things that the Democratic caucus and the Legislature as a whole believe in, she”ll be given as fair a shot as anyone else.”

But Democratic strategists and hard-core partisans know that the less she accomplishes, the more vulnerable she”ll be in 2016.

So when it comes to finding common ground and moving a bill, “it”ll be a test of her skill,” Wolpert said. “She doesn”t have prior public office experience to go on, so it”s hard to say what kind of assemblyperson she”s going to be.”

Baker, whose previous political experience consists of two years as an aide to Rep. Sonny Bono, R-Palm Springs, in the late ”90s before she went to law school, said it was her involvement with her twins” school that drove her to seek this seat.

She says teachers “should have every dollar they need to help each child,” but “education reform is more than just sending money at it,” so she”ll also work to change teacher tenure and seniority rules that make it hard to get rid of bad teachers.

“You will find there are efforts to work on that on a bipartisan basis,” said Baker, who is no conservative ideologue on social issues: She supports abortion choice, same-sex marriage and reasonable gun control.

Another issue she hopes to work with Democrats on is transportation. Baker noted the often-bottlenecked stretch of Interstate 580 tying the busy Port of Oakland to Interstate 5 –“the artery to the backbone of the entire state” — runs through her district. Also, many of her constituents commute to San Francisco and Silicon Valley every day. She wants to find ways to relieve traffic by spreading commercial traffic over other roads and times of day, in addition to improving local roads so residents can sometimes avoid freeways entirely.

Baker said she has the advantage of time. New term-limit rules approved by voters in 2012 mean she can seek re-election in the Assembly for up to 12 years rather than just six, which she hopes will help with “long-term relationship building.”

Meanwhile, she”s focused on the here and now. The Legislature”s meetings for new lawmakers started right after the election and continue this week, Baker said. She”s also meeting with local officials from school board members to county supervisors before she”s sworn in Dec. 1.

“It”s a busy time, but it”s the best kind of busy,” she said. “I”m a mom of twins, so I”ve always been thrown into the extra learning curve and challenges.”

The Bay Area”s last Republican state lawmaker was Guy Houston, who represented what was then the 15th Assembly District in the East Bay from 2002 to 2008.The Bay Area”s last Republican congressman was Richard Pombo, who represented what was then the 11th Congressional District in the East Bay from 1993 to 2007.

As she sips a cup of English Breakfast tea at a Starbucks on a drizzly day, it”s not obvious that the Dublin attorney and mother of 11-year-old twins is seen by the GOP as a giant-killer, having just beaten Democrat Tim Sbranti to become the first Republican to win a Bay Area legislative or congressional election in eight years.

And that means she already has a bulls-eye on her back as Democrats start mulling how to retake the East Bay”s 16th Assembly District — a swing district if there ever was one — in 2016.

“This seat and my service will be a target for those who put politics above everything else, and Sacramento is a political town,” acknowledged Baker, 43. “I will be doing everything I can to break that mold. … It”s going to be about learning and building relationships with my colleagues.”

She has a fighting chance, said Steve Boilard, who directs Sacramento State”s Center for California Studies. “She is a face of what the California Republican Party might be moving toward — she is more moderate, she is female … and I think she could remain in office for a long time.”

But Baker”s challenge is to “hold onto the independent voters that Sbranti couldn”t get after the divisive primary” in which Democrat Steve Glazer got the votes of many nonpartisan voters, said Stephen Wolpert, a political science professor at St. Mary”s College of California in Orinda. A former top political adviser to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, Glazer later backed Baker.

Baker beat Sbranti, Dublin”s mayor, by three percentage points in a district in which Democrats hold a 7.4-point registration edge. The fall campaign grew intense and ugly as Democrats and labor unions spent big for Sbranti while Republican benefactor Charles Munger Jr., of Palo Alto, spent big for Baker.

“She”s still in a blue-leaning district,” Woolpert said, “so all the Democrats basically have to do is split the independents with her next time and they”ll recapture the seat.”

That will be easier with bigger turnout for 2016”s presidential election, he added. “She”s going to be facing a larger electorate with more Democrats, and if the Democrats can avoid another bitter primary and come out with unified support for a candidate, they have a much better chance of getting enough independents to reach a majority.”

Sbranti, 40, might try again in two years in hopes that higher turnout will make the difference. Or perhaps it could be Walnut Creek Mayor Kristina Lawson, 37, a Democrat who didn”t seek re-election this year but still envisions a future in politics or policy work. Or possibly some other Democrat.

For now, however, the Assembly”s Democratic leadership says it”s willing to give Baker a chance.

“Policy and politics are two different things,” said John Casey, chief of staff to Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. “And she won the election.”

Recent bipartisan deals on the water bond and state budget rainy-day fund show “there”s been a pretty good working relationship with the Republican caucus on a lot of stuff, and I think that will continue with her,” he said. “If her policies are things that the Democratic caucus and the Legislature as a whole believe in, she”ll be given as fair a shot as anyone else.”

But Democratic strategists and hard-core partisans know that the less she accomplishes, the more vulnerable she”ll be in 2016.

So when it comes to finding common ground and moving a bill, “it”ll be a test of her skill,” Wolpert said. “She doesn”t have prior public office experience to go on, so it”s hard to say what kind of assemblyperson she”s going to be.”

Baker, whose previous political experience consists of two years as an aide to Rep. Sonny Bono, R-Palm Springs, in the late ”90s before she went to law school, said it was her involvement with her twins” school that drove her to seek this seat.

She says teachers “should have every dollar they need to help each child,” but “education reform is more than just sending money at it,” so she”ll also work to change teacher tenure and seniority rules that make it hard to get rid of bad teachers.

“You will find there are efforts to work on that on a bipartisan basis,” said Baker, who is no conservative ideologue on social issues: She supports abortion choice, same-sex marriage and reasonable gun control.

Another issue she hopes to work with Democrats on is transportation. Baker noted the often-bottlenecked stretch of Interstate 580 tying the busy Port of Oakland to Interstate 5 –“the artery to the backbone of the entire state” — runs through her district. Also, many of her constituents commute to San Francisco and Silicon Valley every day. She wants to find ways to relieve traffic by spreading commercial traffic over other roads and times of day, in addition to improving local roads so residents can sometimes avoid freeways entirely.

Baker said she has the advantage of time. New term-limit rules approved by voters in 2012 mean she can seek re-election in the Assembly for up to 12 years rather than just six, which she hopes will help with “long-term relationship building.”

Meanwhile, she”s focused on the here and now. The Legislature”s meetings for new lawmakers started right after the election and continue this week, Baker said. She”s also meeting with local officials from school board members to county supervisors before she”s sworn in Dec. 1.

“It”s a busy time, but it”s the best kind of busy,” she said. “I”m a mom of twins, so I”ve always been thrown into the extra learning curve and challenges.”

The Bay Area”s last Republican state lawmaker was Guy Houston, who represented what was then the 15th Assembly District in the East Bay from 2002 to 2008.The Bay Area”s last Republican congressman was Richard Pombo, who represented what was then the 11th Congressional District in the East Bay from 1993 to 2007.